i picked this up last year, good deal for the money. powers everything in my house except for my instant water heater that uses 120 (3x40 amps). it will run 2 of the 3 circuits but if i try to run the third one the generator wants to stall out. but no other generator (even at double the price) will run it either.

Bought this last year and had to return it because a couple months later we received a letter from the manufacturer via Costco about a recall. Units that fell under a certain range of serial no's were part of a recall due to a defect. Back then it was $599 AC. Good thing we bought it from Costco too; no hassle with returning it.

Tempted to try again now that's it's $50 cheaper. Just hope there's no recall this time around.

Edit:

And what I mean by that is hopefully not another, future recall, ...separate (different) from the one they had in the past.
VV

Bought this last year and had to return it because a couple months later we received a letter from the manufacturer via Costco about a recall. Units that fell under a certain range of serial no's were part of a recall due to a defect. Back then it was $599 AC. Good thing we bought it from Costco too; no hassle with returning it.

Tempted to try again now that's it's $50 cheaper. Just hope there's no recall this time around.

the recalled lots were made almost 2 years ago (Nov-Dec 2011), so they should be long gone from inventory by now.

I have had this on my wishlist for sometime now......I really would like the Honeywell deal costco put out about a year ago, but that may not ever happen. So this looks like a good choice for the price, power, and brand.

Purchased a home about two years ago.....electric has gone out three times. First time no one was home and we lost everything in the fridge/freezer. Next two times was only out a couple of hours and was able to salvage most of the food due to the fact it was winter.

I grew up in the neighborhood and remember the electric only going out maybe three times in 18 years.

If I purchase this,what is a realistic life expectancy for this type of equipment with regular maintenance?

Been waiting on this deal to come back for a long time. Some rough weather is heading this way now so I almost went out and bought one today because I was tired of waiting. I'll definitely be first in line tomorrow morning.

Purchased a home about two years ago.....electric has gone out three times. First time no one was home and we lost everything in the fridge/freezer. Next two times was only out a couple of hours and was able to salvage most of the food due to the fact it was winter.

I grew up in the neighborhood and remember the electric only going out maybe three times in 18 years.

If I purchase this,what is a realistic life expectancy for this type of equipment with regular maintenance?

Of course, if nobody is home to turn this bad boy on and plug in your fridge, having one of these won't save your food. However, it is a lot cheaper than one of those permanently installed LNG units that will turn itself on during a blackout.

Purchased a home about two years ago.....electric has gone out three times. First time no one was home and we lost everything in the fridge/freezer. Next two times was only out a couple of hours and was able to salvage most of the food due to the fact it was winter.

I grew up in the neighborhood and remember the electric only going out maybe three times in 18 years.

If I purchase this,what is a realistic life expectancy for this type of equipment with regular maintenance?

Kept clean, dry and perhaps started a couple times a year and then turning off the fuel and running the carb bowl dry it will last decades. *BUT* you can't leave any gas in it if you don't use it. I leave mine with a small amount of stabilized gas in it and pump some out the car when I need more.

If it doesn't come with one, it is very worth it to put a shut off valve on the fuel line.

These things are super heavy just an FYI I think it weighs ~200lbs, even though it has wheels and a handle they aren't portable. We bought one to use with our RV to run the AC, etc and had to sell it on craigslist because it wasn't practical to load and unload in a pickup truck bed.

Kept clean, dry and perhaps started a couple times a year and then turning off the fuel and running the carb bowl dry it will last decades. *BUT* you can't leave any gas in it if you don't use it. I leave mine with a small amount of stabilized gas in it and pump some out the car when I need more.

If it doesn't come with one, it is very worth it to put a shut off valve on the fuel line.

What they don't have is a long running life. Perhaps a few hundred hours. Now in backup service that can be decades.

Purchased a home about two years ago.....electric has gone out three times. First time no one was home and we lost everything in the fridge/freezer. Next two times was only out a couple of hours and was able to salvage most of the food due to the fact it was winter.

I grew up in the neighborhood and remember the electric only going out maybe three times in 18 years.

If I purchase this,what is a realistic life expectancy for this type of equipment with regular maintenance?

I spent 2 weeks without electricity in the past 2 years living in suburbia CT. With population growth compounding, and the energy grid busting at the seams, a generator can be a good investment for the safety of your family.

You are lucky to trash the food only. During Sandy, lost power, battery back-up for sump pump depleted in I believe 4-5 hours, my basement flooded. Damage in the most-empty basement that was kind of my daughter's playground was about $40K. Most if not all paid by homeowner's insurance but clean up and construction lasted about 5 months. I bought 3500W generator but after talking to couple contractors for installation, I am going for a little bigger one like this. Electric start sounds great, remote control would not be much pluss as it'll be in my garage when not in use... Well worth few hundred dollar investment.

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from FBomb
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Purchased a home about two years ago.....electric has gone out three times. First time no one was home and we lost everything in the fridge/freezer. Next two times was only out a couple of hours and was able to salvage most of the food due to the fact it was winter.

I grew up in the neighborhood and remember the electric only going out maybe three times in 18 years.

If I purchase this,what is a realistic life expectancy for this type of equipment with regular maintenance?